Interview with Simon John
AN INTERVIEW SIMON JOHN, UP AND COMING EXPERIMENTAL POP ARTIST
By Bridget Lord
Describe your sound for us!
I describe my sound as experimental pop with hints of psychedelia and jazz. I like to make simple hooks and then dive deeper into experimentation with my flows and instrumentals.
How did you get started in music?
As a kid I was always into art but getting a USB MP3 player when I was 8 and vibing out to Prince and The Beatles was when I discovered music was my favorite form of entertainment. I eventually learned piano and guitar then picked up singing along the way.
How have you used social media to grow your brand?
I released my first song during quarantine in April so I’ve only been able to use social media to promote my music. The only time I performed my first song, “Wrote For You”, was in a basement in Boston last winter.
Without having shows to promote my stuff, I did a lot of daily research on Spotify, Instagram, TikTok and other platforms and constantly tried new ways to find a fan base. I made playlists for fans, uploaded videos every day, recorded covers and bonus versions of my music, and everything else I could to make an impression on the internet. I still haven’t cracked the code but I’m going to go as far as I can to make sure people hear the music I’m making since I’m always working on new stuff.
What are your current favorite songs?
My favorite song ever right now is Petrol Bliss by Choker, it’s the perfect combination of hip hop/ jazz/ experimental and pop but also much deeper than that. It has 10 million streams already but it’s about to go big as f*ck soon- people aren’t ready. I also really like Tape Side B by him as well.
What other artists influence your music?
I’d say my biggest inspirations are Frank Ocean, Steve lacy, Toro y Moi, Choker, Men I Trust, and Daniel Caesar. I also love older stuff like Prince, The Beatles, John Coltrane, Daniel Johnston and Radiohead. I tend to get into phases with an artist where I’ll listen to their entire catalogue religiously for 6 months or so. And then I just listen to a bunch of random stuff on top of that to switch it up.
Where do you see yourself and your career in 5 years?
In 5 years I see myself dropping 2-3 larger projects/ albums but having collaborated and released a ton of tracks both for myself and with other artists. I write songs and poems all the time so I want to have a large catalog of content on the internet.
I also want to connect to a loyal fan base that I can share my life experiences with through art and have them feel entertained and understood through my stuff, I endure a lot of mental health issues and I talk about that frequently in my music, I feel it’s important for people to connect to things like this through art so they don’t feel as alone.
I see myself touring or connecting on a large scale with these fans in the next five years, however this also depends on COVID.
I also want to eventually make a surreal, 15 minute comedy drama show that I make the music for with other sick artists that loosely describes LA life as a kid, inspired by David Lynch and Donald Glover. I’m very interested in moving into more mediums of art.
Also my feature on Sun Leong’s song “Talk to Me” was written in about 20 minutes while I was in a pretty dark place. He had finished the song and wanted me to lay down a little bit so I just talked about issues with depression, self medication, and I guess some existentialism- though that feels corny to say.
I have new music for my solo act coming out soon, I’m just working with the master of the newest single. I’m hoping to finish an EP project by January but I’ll be releasing music regardless!
I also want to share that I love that music has the ability to inspire escapism, enhancement, and catharsis. With the way I make music I want the listener to achieve these three things at least once. I want them to listen to my music when they’re trying to clear their head, feel depressed, or are spending time with their partner or even just smoking a joint with their friends. Whatever the listener is feeling, I wanna be there for at least a little of their experience the way music has been there for me in the past.
